Quick Teriyaki Stir-fry with Jasmine Rice

I’m not a rice eater but my husband is. Yes, I know it’s crazy and I’m trying to change my views on rice but it goes back to childhood trauma of one of those events where my parents forced you to eat something I didn’t want.

A word of advice to all you parents out there, if your child was eating a food and all of a sudden goes through a phase where they don’t want to eat, leave them alone. They’ll be back to eating it sooner than you know unless you force the issue and they end up hating it for life, like I do. But anyway, enough of the personal stuff.

We both love Asian food and it’s so easy to whip up a quick stir-fry when I have lots of fresh veggies in the house to pair up with my husband’s favorite rice, the sweet Jasmine (I might not eat it regularly but I do taste all the dishes I cook including the rice ones so I do know what it tastes like).

When I’m in a hurry I use a bottled Teriyaki marinade from our local Japanese store instead of making my own out of soy sauce, brown sugar, fresh orange or lime juice, garlic and fresh ginger. Use your favorite or make your own to your taste. I do recommend getting out to a local Asian store for more authentic sauces than you get at the big grocery stores.

The veggies you toss in are completely up to you and your tastes, I use whatever I have on hand. Broccoli, peppers, carrots, onions, snow peas, green onions, bean sprouts, or squash are good ones to start with. Just remember to cook everything crisp-tender and not soft because it really takes away from the dish. I like to cook everything in batches and then set aside, to avoid over cooking. Once I’ve cooked everything, I add it back to the pan and pour in the sauce for a quick reheat.I also treat any meat or seafood I add the same way. Into the hot pan and out again to keep it from getting tough from over cooking.

The biggest trick to stir-frying is to get a large frying pan or wok extremely hot before adding any of the ingredients. Your oil should be smoking slightly. I like to use sesame oil. Add the food, toss a few times and then remove for that perfect crisp-tender. Using a pan that’s not hot enough, leaves the food steaming in its own juices and getting soggy.

DO NOT add salt to this dish. The Teriyaki sauce or soy sauce has plenty of salt in it without adding anymore. You will have a salty mess that is inedible if you add.

Add the minced garlic and ginger at the end when you do the sauce to avoid burning. Saute it a few seconds to soften then pour in your sauce and allow to simmer a few minutes together to flavor the sauce. This makes the garlic and ginger flavor flow throughout the dish evenly. I also add dried Thai chilies are this point to give the dish a bit of heat. Add as little or as much as you like. The heat from the chilies brings a well round balance to the stir-fry with the sweet of the teriyaki sauce.

Another great thing about this dish is that you can make extra and it reheats well for lunch at work the next day. So have fun making up a teriyaki stir-fry for your family. It’s low-fat, loaded with veggies and wonderfully yummy to the taste buds.

Teriyaki Stir-fry with Jasmine Rice

1 cup uncooked Jasmine Rice

3 to 4 Tbsp. of oil ( I use sesame but canola, veggie or peanut works well too)

To cook the rice, add 2 1/2 cups of water to a medium-size pot. Bring the water to a boil; add the rice. Give it a quick stir, cover with a lid and turn the pot down to a low simmer. Jasmine rice takes about 25 to 30 minutes to cook. Keep an eye on it so that it remains a little sticky and doesn’t dry out too much or over cook and become soggy.

Chop or slice all your veggies into nice size stir fry pieces. If you’re using meat, cut up into thin strips for fast cooking. Place a large skillet or wok on high heat, adding your choice of oil.

Start by cooking the meats and seafood first. Don’t over crowd the pan, cook in batches if you need to. You want to keep the pan very hot. Cook until just done and remove from the pan, setting aside. Add just enough oil for the next meat or start the veggies. I add the mushrooms and broccoli at the same time because they take about the same amount of time to cook, then pour in fast cooking veggies like frozen green peas in with them for the last 2 minutes. If you sliced the carrots thin, they should only take about 2 minutes or less to get crisp-tender. Continue with all veggies until done. Removing from the pan and setting aside until the end.

Once you’ve cooked at the meats and veggies, add a little more oil to the pan and sauté the green onions, Thai chilies, garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the citrus zest as you pour in your sauce and cook to reduce slightly, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add all the meats and veggies back to the pan, toss to coat completely with the sauce and serve over the rice.

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Ciao! I'm Heidi Medina, your personal chef for cooking up fresh, tasty recipes. Since 2012, I have been the writer, creator, food photographer and recipe creator for Simply Sophisticated Cooking.
I am also a versatile freelance writer from the United States who specializes in food and drink, recipes, food photography, multicultural cuisine, healthy eating and travel.
I believe eating, drinking, loving, laughing and living well are essential ingredients for a good life. Good food feeds the soul.